p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
How to pronounce package in American English
PA·kuhj
Start here
Americans pronounce package as PA-kuhj (/ˈpækədʒ/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "The package weighs sixteen pounds" or "The package hasn't arrived yet, has it?" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "package".
2 syllables, 5 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
a/æ/
Drop the jaw noticeably. Keep the body of the tongue low and forward, and don't let the back of the tongue raise toward the soft palate. Pull the lip corners back slightly, almost a starting smile.
k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
j/dʒ/
Touch the front of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, then release into a 'zh' position. Add vocal cord vibration.
In real conversation
Hear "package" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"I need to go to the post office to mail this package."
ahy NEED tuh GOH tuh dhuh POHST AH·fuhs tuh MAYL dhihs PA·kuhj
"She returned the damaged package and got a full refund."
shee ruh·TURND dhuh DA·muhjd PA·kuhj and GAHT uh FUUL ree·FUHND
"The package hasn't arrived yet, has it?"
dhuh PA·kuhj HA·zuhnt uh·RAHYVD yeht huhz uht
"The package includes the phone, the charger, and the user manual."
dhuh PA·kuhj uhn·KLOODZ dhuh FOHN dhuh CHAR·jer and dhuh YOO·zer MAN·yoo·uhl
"The package should arrive here by Tuesday."
dhuh PA·kuhj shuud uh·RAHYV HEER bahy TOOZ·day
"The package was supposed to arrive today."
dhuh PA·kuhj wuhz suh·POHZD tuh uh·RAHYV tuh·DAY
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Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch PA — keep everything else short and quick.
pa·KUHJ→PA·kuhj
02
Pronouncing the unstressed syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the first syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
PA·KUHJ→PA·kuhj
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "package" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "PA" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "PA-kuhj" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the second syllable in "package" reduce to "uh"?
Unstressed syllables in American English collapse toward a schwa — a lazy, neutral "uh" sound. The full vowel is what textbooks teach, but in actual American speech every unstressed vowel reduces. The respell "PA-kuhj" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "package" different from British English?
American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "PA-kuhj" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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